'American Idol' Tour Kicks Off in Washington with Half-Full Venue

The AmericanIdol season 12 tour kicked off in Kent, Washington on Friday with about half of the ShoWare Center's 6,500 seats filled, according to eyewitness reports.

VIP tickets for the inaugural concert were selling for $20 in the weeks leading up to the July 19 kick-off.

As previously reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the tour was originally slated to begin June 29 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO, but that show, along with eight other dates, were canceled with one stop rescheduled to August.

Said a spokesperson for the tour in May: "Due to production scheduling changes, the American Idol 2013 Tour will now begin on July 19th and go through the summer until August 31st. The Idols look forward to performing in 30 venues across the country."

THR has reached out to the venue and the tour's press representative for an exact sell-through number, but the request has gone unanswered.

Still, it's hard not to take note of the fact that the Idol tour once filled Los Angeles' Staples Center (concert capacity: 20,000) -- on Tuesday, the L.A. stop takes place across the street at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, which seats 7,100. As of Sunday evening, tickets were still available in the orchestra section.

As for the set list of the 2013 tour? The girls get lots of stage time. Aubrey Cleland, AmberHolcomb, AngieMiller and JanelleArthur kick off the show with an upbeat number -- Robin Thicke’s No. 1 hit, “Blurred Lines.” KreeHarrison, received a warm welcome, according to tweets, with chants of “Kree! Kree! Kree!” echoing through the concert hall after her set.

Miller seems primed for solo stardom, as she performed two original compositions from the piano, at one point climbing atop the instrument. Additonally, CandiceGlover debuted a new song that she described as "fun" in a subsequent tweet. Called “In The Middle,” it gave the audience a glimpse into her future album. The season 12 winner later brought down the house with a reprise of her version of “Love Song” by The Cure.

The guys' numbers included a rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie,” performed by BurnellTaylor, DevinVelez, and CurtisFinch, Jr., while Paul Jolley delivered an earnest take on CarrieUnderwood’s “Blown Away” and Lazaro Arbos reprised his slow burn performance of “Feeling Good.”

The finale, a medley of “Gone” songs -- as in KellyClarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and PhillipPhillips’ “Gone, Gone, Gone,” among others -- seems to be a crowd pleaser, especially as it segues into AnnaKendrick’s “ When I’m Gone (The Cup Song)” -- with Miller working the cup! See the full set list below: